Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Creature Collection Preview

Today's the day I throw out a sneak preview of my tentatively titled Creature Collection for The Adventurer's Tale. I wanted to keep the monster list in the core game quite pure so this is where I've been able to mess around with some more unusual enemies. Here are a pair of new Undead minions. Put them to use in your Adventurer's Tale game!

BloodlingThese creatures resemble bald, bloated dwarfs, usually found waddling around the lairs of their vampire masters. They serve without question, usually carrying out menial tasks, acting as lookouts and being disposable sources of blood when the need arises. Creating a Bloodling is a process that only a vampire can carry out and involves biting a captured victim in a particular way while casting a Command spell. This causes them to swell with blood and become completely at the command of their master.Body 5Melee 3, Shooting 3, Craft 2, Grace 2Crossbow (Damage 3) and Dagger (Damage 2).Blood Sacrifice: A Bloodling may fly into a combat rage, adding 2 to their Melee score for a single engagement. In doing so they exert themselves so much that they explode in a splatter of blood as soon as the engagement is complete. Usually they only use this technique when their master is in direct danger.Variety: The blood splatter of some Bloodlings may carry disease or even burn an opponent's skin for a point of damage. Vampires with military backgrounds often train their Bloodlings in the use of a larger variety of weapons and armour.

Floating CorpseDark Wizards may create these horrors without the exertion required in creating a mass of zombies or skeletons. These rotting corpses float upright a few inches off the ground, making no sound as they patrol a set area or head towards a given point. If patrolling they will turn and float towards any intruders they notice, unable to attack, but often serving as a deterrent for inexperienced intruders. When they reach their target they do nothing but helplessly bump against them, hoping to provoke enough of a noise to alert the real guards.Body 6Lifeless Hang: Floating corpses cannot cause damage. If they hit an opponent they bump into them lightly, perhaps shedding some rotten flesh on them. Note that engagements with a Floating Corpses still count towards Combat Fatigue.Variety: Some Floating Corpses are able to pass on curses or diseases with a touch, with others bursting into flames upon contact with living flesh.

And perhaps something larger, if that's to your tastes...

Spider DragonThese towering horrors would seem to be prime examples of a wizard's experiment gone wrong. They are, in fact, natural creatures predating even Dragons, which they are unrelated to. Forced to the surface from their home deep beneath the ground they have developed a taste for cattle and slowly gained tolerance to sunlight. They resemble pale, gigantic six-legged spiders with a hideous head sporting beady eyes and an unfolding jaw bristling with teeth. No one has ever been known to tame one of these beasts or find a nest of young.Body 20Melee 12, Grace 2.Leg Claws (Damage 4), Chitin (count as Heavy Armour).Burning Spray: Damage 3 and reduces Body by 1 until healed, Hits 1d6-3 targets at the start of the dragon's turn. Targets can dodge this with a DN10 Grace roll. A spider dragon may do this once every hour.Web Wrap: A Wild Dragon deals 2 extra points of damage on a Critical Hit, rather than 1. If this would cause their opponent to roll on the Death Table the Spider Dragon will (if they are cow-sized or smaller) wrap them in webbing and later devour them.